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In conservation, the practical ability to implement treatment on objects of cultural heritage requires skills as an essential part of conservation expertise and constitutes an fundamental part of learning in conservation education. The acquisition of practical skills, which include cognitive and practical elements, is governed by laws that are primarily explained by means of organizational psychology and medicine where they have evolved in the form of step models. Stages of explicit and implicit knowledge are distinguished as well as factual-theoretical and practical-performative knowledge. Forms of learning are, in addition to guided learning, the experiment, the emergency, case studies and implicit forms of problem solving. The development of the expert can also be traced by the development of practical skills in five stages from beginner to expert. The stages of skills acquisition can be explained by reference to the European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning (EQF) and the skill levels defined by the European Confederation of Conservator-Restorers' Organizations (E.C.C.O.). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this work we present a mathematical model describing the coupled heat and moisture transport in paper. The model is solved numerically and the numerical solution is used to study the interdependency of the moisture and temperature distribution in paper. The results show that variation with temperature of the saturated water vapor concentration and the sorption isotherm parameters are both important for inducing moisture desorption. It is also found that for steep relative humidity ramps moisture sorption generates temperature increments that slow down the sorption process itself. The model is also used to study the moisture gradients in a paper sheet inside a printer from Océ Technologies, which contains a warm print surface. The results predict changes in moisture content of only 0.2%, which suggests that no deformations are induced on the printed sheet. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article examines the influence of More Products, Less Process (MPLP) on digitization practices and discusses how a major digitization project involving the John Muir Papers had decision making that reflects elements of the MPLP philosophy. It further analyzes how the minimalist metadara practices supported by MPLP require careful implementation with the context of evolving user expectations for locating information on the Web. It cites the relevance of MPLP to digitization in making user access paramount, embracing flexibility and expending greatest effort on the most deserving materials. It notes how the Muir Papers project shows how different series in the same collection can legitimately merit differing levels of image capture and description.

The emergence of practice-based research networks (PBRN) has facilitated the execution of multifaceted community-based studies. As study complexity increases, so does the number of methodological barriers encountered. This paper's goal was to delineate methodological barriers and to evaluate the effectiveness of selected strategies and approaches developed and implemented in allowing a prospective, national PBRN cohort study to succeed in enrolling geographically dispersed mother/healthy term infant dyads ( n = 4300) on the day of post-partum discharge. Specific methodological barriers included: (1) obtaining multiple Institutional Review Board (IRB) approvals; (2) gathering longitudinal data from multiple individuals; (3) soliciting multiple perspectives on discharge decision making; and (4) bolstering minority enrolment. The most effective strategies and approaches we employed to address these methodological challenges were: (1) preparing and distributing the ‘IRB Packet’; (2) recruiting multiple practices covered by the same IRB; and (3) obtaining supplemental funding for increasing minority enrolment. We expect that other PBRN investigators can benefit from our experience and solutions in the successful conduct of this multifaceted community-based study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article informs that mass deacidification technology in Germany and its quality control. European archives and library preservation officers today are able to choose among several commercial companies providing mass deacidification services according to different systems. To develop a holistic deacidification programme, they have to be able to evaluate which collection materials should be subjected to such a mass treatment. Until recently, there has been no meaningful analytical procedure for evaluating the efficacy of mass deacidification treatments. Common tests provided only limited information and required destructive analysis on extensive sample material. None of these tests can predict the chemical stability or ageing properties of paper.